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‘If I discover that this is a ruse to win me to your desires, know that the punishment will be swift and merciless.’
She paled, all hints of that blush disappearing as her eyes widened with hurt. ‘You think I’m asking just to butter you up?’
‘Are you not?’
The hurt intensified and pinpricks of guilt burrowed into him.
He had nothing to be guilty of.
Her tongue slicked over her bottom lip and the tension ratcheted up inside him. ‘Discussing Matt triggers animosity between us. I... I just thought you...we might both want a break from it.’
‘And my feelings matter to you?’ he asked drolly.
‘Of course they do.’ She swallowed and shook her head. ‘Believe it or not, while I intend to keep advocating for my brother, I don’t want to spend what’s left of my twenty-four hours trading barbs with you.’
‘Said the woman who once took the floor of a debate tournament for twenty-seven hours straight with only a handful of short breaks.’
She gave a soft gasp. ‘You remember that?’
He shrugged, a little annoyed with himself for dredging up that memory. ‘I’ve forgotten very little of my time at university.’ He’d meant it to sting and to generalise, but his brain supplied other, more carnal reminders, throwing even wider the funnel of heat attacking his insides. Like howthoroughly,exhaustivelyandpassionatelythey’d celebrated after she’d won that debate.
Briefly, he wished he’d agreed to Javid’s request for his presence this week at the international trade summit in Toronto. It would’ve been a good opportunity to indulge in a discreet liaison—the type he could no longer enjoy in Jukrat without inviting wild speculation about his future bride—to alleviate the hunger prowling within him. Wished he hadn’t broken off the years-long understanding he’d had with a certain female head of state who valued discretion and the need to blow off steam in bed as much as he did.
He suppressed the persistent tug of need and focused as Lauren responded. ‘Then you’ll know that the quickest way to burnout is to go full pelt right out of the gate?’
Lips thinning, he wanted to condemn her for playing games with him, but hadn’t he started this very game? Hadn’t he given her the very tool with which she was setting up her own offensive even though she would lose in the end?
Irritated but fractionally impressed by her tactic, he rose and headed for the cabinet tucked discreetly into one corner of his living room.
While alcohol consumption was allowed in Jukrat, it was still a young law, passed by his grandfather a handful of decades ago. More than half of his kingdom still practised a teetotal life, and Tahir respected that by not flaunting his curated alcohol collection.
Throwing the cabinet open, he made his selection and picked up the glasses.
Turning around, he froze.
The sight of her slim torso, of the long braid teasing the small of her back, of the legs she’d tucked beneath her some time in the last few minutes, all reeked far too much of another place. Another time.
He’d been granted the perfect conduit through which to deliver his retribution for what Lauren Winchester had done to him.
And he was serving her wine?
Just then she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes moving from his face to the bottle he clutched before her eyes widened, accurately reflecting the astonishment moving through his own gut.
After several beats, one corner of her mouth twitched but didn’t produce a full smile, perhaps when she noticed his stillness. ‘Are we moving into the drinking part of the game?’ she asked with forced gaiety.
Tahir shrugged. This small misstep needn’t derail his intentions. Hell, it might even lull her into a false sense of security. ‘You were partial to decent vintage Shiraz if I recall.’
This time her blush flowed higher and deepened, bringing his attention to her high cheekbones and plump lips. Cementing the thought that, yes, he much preferred her this way. A combination of wit, beauty and intelligence.
His fingers tightened on the bottle, the warning that this was veering down a risky path whispering at the back of his head.
‘So are we going to drink it or stare at it?’
Tahir caught the nerves in her voice, and he was unapologetic enough to admit that satisfied him.
Nerves would keep her on her toes, dissolve any illusion of sneaking beneath his guard. ‘No one else within this kingdom or outside it would dare speak to me this way, do you know that?’ he breathed as he returned to the seating area.
Then the reaction he’d expected fully materialised. Her lashes swept down but not before he caught the flash of defiance. ‘You said you preferred plain speaking. I’m accommodating you.’
